Derry City and Strabane District Council Minutes of Meeting of the Derry City and Strabane District Council held in the Guildhall, Derry on Thursday 26 September 2019 at 4.00 pm Present:- Councillor M Boyle (Mayor)(In the Chair); Aldermen Bresland Devenney, Guy, Kerrigan, McClintock, McKane and Warke; Councillors J Barr, R Barr, J Boyle, Burke, Carr, Cooper, Dobbins, Donnelly, Duffy, Durkan, Farrell, Ferguson, Fleming, Gallagher, Harkin, Hunter, Jackson, Kelly, Logue, McCann, McCloskey, McGuire, McHugh, J McKeever, McKinney, Mellon, Reilly and Tierney In Attendance:- Director of Business and Culture (Mr S Gillespie), Director of Health and Community (Mrs K McFarland), Director of Environment and Regeneration (Mrs K Phillips), Lead Legal Services Officer (Mr P Kingston),Lead Democratic Services and Improvement Officer (Ms E Cavanagh), Democratic Services Officer (Mrs S Maxwell) and Committee Services Assistant (Mrs T Johnstone). C226/19 Notice and Summons of Meeting The Mayor read the Notice and Summons for the Meeting. C227/19 Member Attendance and Apologies The Mayor completed the roll call and recorded apologies from Aldermen McCready and Ramsey and Councillors Cusack and McLaughlin. C228/19 Webcasting Notice The Mayor read the Webcast Announcement for the Meeting. C229/19 Declarations of Members' Interests Councillor Ferguson declared a non-pecuniary interest in the following; Notice of Motion – 5G Wireless. 2 Councillor Cooper declared a non-pecuniary interest in the following; Deputation – Visit Derry. Chairperson's Business C230/19 Changes to Committee Membership Unionist Party on Derry City and Strabane District Council, he wished to make the following changes to committee membership: Alderman McKane to replace Alderman Guy on the Health and Community Committee. Alderman Guy to replace Alderman Hussey on Governance and Strategic Planning Committee. Alderman Guy to replace Alderman Hussey on the Cultural Steering Group, North West Region Development Group and Strategic Growth /Community Planning Partnership. He stated that all other Committee memberships would remain unchanged and that Alderman McKane would replace Alderman Hussey on a like-for-like basis. Councillor Duffy advised that Sinn Féin wished to make the following changes to Committee memberships: Councillor Cooper to replace Councillor Fleming on the Advice Services Panel Councillor Fleming to replace Councillor Cooper on the Adverse Weather Working Group. Councillor Reilly advised that SDLP wished to make the following changes to Committee membership: Councillor J Boyle to replace Councillor Tierney on the NILGA Policy and Learning Network - Elected Member Development. 3 Alderman McClintock advised that Alderman Devenney would replace Alderman Bresland on the Strabane Neighbourhood Renewal Partnership Board. C231/19 Confirmation of the Open Minutes of the Meeting of the Derry City and Strabane District Council held on Thursday 18 July 2019 The Minutes of the Meeting of Derry City and Strabane District Council held on 18 July 2019 (C180/19-C219/19) were submitted. Alderman Devenney Moved, Alderman Guy Seconded and the Council. Resolved that the above Minutes be adopted, as a true record of the Meeting. Matters Arising C232/19 Graduate Entry Medical School at UU Magee (C186/19) Councillor Reilly enquired if any update had been received in relation to the proposal to meet with the Derry University Group and other interested parties regarding the Graduate Entry Medical School at Magee. He stated that his Party had asked Ulster University to demonstrate their commitment to the Graduate Entry Medical School by relocating the Health Sciences Faculty to Magee Campus. He noted that it had emerged during a recent meeting of the Governance and Strategic Planning Committee that the university were intending to move some of its courses from the Jordanstown Campus, however they had not decided on a location. He stated that Derry was well placed to receive the Faculty of Health Sciences which would complement the proposed Graduate Entry Medical School. He proposed that Council writes to the Ulster University to make the case that they should relocate those courses within the Faculty of Health Sciences to Magee Campus. He stated that this would complement the proposed Graduate Entry Medical School. 4 Councillor Reilly Proposed, Seconded by Councillor J Boyle That this Council writes to Ulster University and put forward the case to relocate those courses within the Faculty of Health Sciences to Magee Campus. Councillors McCann and McCloskey entered the meeting at this point. The Chief Executive referred to the meeting of the Governance and Strategic Planning Committee on 2 July 2019, where the Provost and senior members of staff at Magee presented on the City Deal Update. He advised that the Vice Chancellor of Ulster University would be attending the meeting of Governance and Strategic Planning on Tuesday 1 October 2019 to discuss proposals in relation to Magee. Councillor Harkin enquired if there had been any update regarding a meeting with the Derry University Group or any other interested parties. He stated that there had been a lot of media coverage on the matter and emphasised the importance of putting more pressure on Ulster University and the Department. In response, the Chief Executive stated that following the motion proposed and adopted by Council on 18 July 2019, Senior Officers had been tasked with drafting a scoping paper to include the options outlined in the proposal and to meet with the various interest groups throughout the City and District. He advised that a report would be presented to the relevant committee on the matter. Councillor Harkin stated that time was of the essence and stressed the importance of the scoping exercise being carried out as soon as possible within a limited timeframe. The Chief Executive noted the comments in respect of the matter. He described the notice of motion as ‘wide ranging’, therefore the quality of the scoping paper would be determined on the time and resources available to 5 produce it. He stated that it was his intention to bring a report to Members within the next number of months. Councillor McCann concurred that it was important that Council engaged with other interested groups on the matter as there had been no indication by Ulster University to redress the balance against Derry and the North West. He stated that no money had been dedicated to the expansion of Magee Campus or the Graduate Entry Medical School. He noted that the Head of the Civil Service stated that the resources required for any expansion at Magee would have to be found by Ulster University. He expressed concern that Ulster University would not agree to fund the school and that Council should take a firm view on the matter. Councillor McKeever entered the meeting at this point. C233/19 Notice of Motion - NIPSA (C214/19) Councillor Harkin noted that NIPSA had organised recent strike action for better working terms and conditions, however the matter still had not been resolved. He stated that more strike action was planned on September 30 and October 3 2019 by NIPSA across the North. He asked for an update regarding the request for correspondence to be sent to the Permanent Secretary for the Department of Finance. He stated that it was Council’s corporate policy to support strike action until a resolution had been found. The Chief Executive advised that a response had been received from the Permanent Secretary and was included in the meeting papers. C234/19 Adoption of the Open Minutes of the following Committees C235/19 Special Planning Committee held on Thursday 22 August 2019 The Minutes of the Planning Committee held on 22 August 2019 (SP6/19-SP7/19) Alderman McClintock Moved, Seconded by Councillor McGuire and the Council 6 Resolved that the above minutes be adopted as a true record of the Meeting. a Monthly Governance and Strategic Planning Committee held on Tuesday 3 September 2019 The Minutes of the Governance and Strategic Planning Committee held on 3 September 2019 (GSP90/19-GSP114/19) were submitted. On a matter of accuracy, Councillor J Boyle referred to GSP104/19 and stated that the item in the minutes had referred to the removal of bullet point 3, however it should actually say bullet point 4. Councillor J Boyle Moved, Councillor McKeever Seconded and the Council Resolved that the above minutes, as amended, be adopted as a true record of the meeting. Matters Arising from the Minutes C236/19 Update on the Strategic Growth Partnership - June 2019 (GSP111/19) Councillor Gallagher expressed concern regarding a potential crisis within the Outer West area of Council which may impact on the delivery of the Council’s community plans. He proposed that a task group be set up by the Health and Community Directorate to look at the potential crisis and that Council officials, Elected Members, the Department for Communities and the Chairperson of the Assurance, Audit and Risk Committee be invited to attend. He stated that Council as a partner within the Outer West Neighbourhood Renewal Partnership, needed to take steps to address the matter to enable the community plans and strategies to progress. Councillor Donnelly stated that as Chair of the Assurance, Audit and Risk Committee he had spoken to officers on the matter. He stated that the issue related to an Outer West Limited Company, who acted as a management agent for the Outer West Neighbourhood Renewal Partnership. He advised that a number of issues had been raised regarding a recent internet scam. 7 Councillor Duffy informed Members that the matter was currently under investigation. After seeking advice from the Lead Legal Services Officer, the Mayor advised that the Department for Communities were currently investigating the matter and that Council would not prejudice the investigation as there may be ramifications for Council or individual Members. She advised that the matter be raised through the Health and Community Committee.